Contemplate the
wonder of the incarnation. The Bible describes it in very simple language: "The
Word was God...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:1,14). The
infinite God became a Man. The eternal One stepped into time (Gal. 4:4). The God
who never had a beginning and who always existed was born as an Infant (Micah
5:2; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6). The Almighty rested in the arms of Mary as a dependent
Baby. The Creator of all things was laid in a receptacle that was made for the
feeding of animals (Luke 2:12). The One who was "high and lifted up" (Isa.6:1)
was placed in a lowly manger and greeted by lowly shepherds.

Perhaps the most wondrous fact of the incarnation is that it made it possible
for the Immortal One to die! The living God cannot die. Manís sin deserved and
demanded death (Rom. 1:32; 6:23), thus dooming man to an eternal destiny
separated from the God of Life (Isa. 59:2; 2 Thess. 1:8-9). God in love devised
a way to provide salvation for sinful man without compromising His own just and
righteous Character. Serving as manís Substitute, He would Himself pay the death
penalty for sinful man. In order for this to be done, God must Himself become a
Man "that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Heb. 2:9).
The Immortal One cannot die, but God took upon Himself our humanity and the
God-Man could die and did die for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3; 1 Pet. 3:18).

Yes, He was born to die. His very purpose for coming into this world was to
save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15; John 3:17), and this saving work was
accomplished, not in Bethlehemís cradle, but on Golgothaís cross. His birth made
His death possible; His death made our salvation possible. The Bible describes
it this way: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he
was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might
be rich" (2 Cor. 8:9).

Let no one misunderstand the significance of the incarnation. God became flesh,
and God became a Man, but He did not become the Son. He became a partaker of
flesh and blood, and He "was made like his brethren" (Heb. 2:14,17), but it was
not by His incarnation that He became the Son of God. John chapter 1 teaches
that the eternal Word was made (became) flesh (v.1,14). Paul used
similar language is used to communicate the fact that the Son "was made (became)
of the seed of David according to the flesh" (Rom. 1:3). He who ever was the Son
of God became the Son of David by human birth. The eternal God became a man,
born of the house and lineage of David. The eternal God did not become the Son
of God.

The Lord Jesus once posed a question to the Pharisees which they could not
answer: "What think ye of Christ (the Messiah)? Whose son is he? They say
unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them...If David, then, called him Lord
(in Psalm 110:1), how is he his son?" (Matthew 22:42-45). The Pharisees were
silenced by this question, but years later this very question was answered by
another Pharisee whose eyes had been opened by Godís grace. The answer is given
by the Apostle Paul and recorded in Romans 1:3-4. Whose son is the Messiah?
In His humanity ("according to the flesh") He is the Son of David (Romans 1:3).
In His deity He is the Son of God (Romans 1:4), and thus He is Davidís Lord. His
resurrection was the final proof that He was everything that He claimed to be.

The Lord Jesus did not become God at the incarnation, nor did He become the Son. The
incarnation was when Godís eternal Son assumed our humanity,
without ceasing to be God. The Son of God became the Son of Man, that we, the
sons of men, might become the sons of God (John 1:12; Gal. 3:26). May we ever be
filled with wonder and praise for His condescending love and grace by which He
stooped so low in order to raise us so high! "Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" (1 John
3:1).